I reluctantly joined Twitter a year ago. Perhaps you can relate to some of my initial excuses for holding out:

I thought Twitter was about telling people what I was doing—and it felt like a better idea to save those details for time we spent together in person.

I didn’t like the idea of narrating my life via technology. What if I started talking about it more than experiencing it?

I was protective of my anonymity. The interwebs is a massive place, and people aren’t always kind; did I really want to open my daily ramblings to critique?

Then something inside me clicked: Twitter is about sharing small pieces of information with large amounts of people. That’s a powerful opportunity, particularly for someone who provides more detailed information elsewhere on the web, and wants to build an audience.

I was one of those people. I was planning to launch my blog about realistic positive thinking, SeeingGood.com a few months down the road. Since there are millions of blogs on the Internet, I knew gaining readers would take time and effort.

In the past year, I’ve made many meaningful connections on Twitter, and introduced quite a few people to my writing, both on my blog and other sites. If that’s a goal of yours, as well—and perhaps you feel frustrated with the process—these tips may help you stay positive and make progress:

See Twitter as both a path to a destination and a destination itself.

Your online presence isn’t just what you write on your blog. It’s what you put out there everywhere you are. If your goal as a writer is to help people with fitness, do that as much as you can on Twitter. Share links from relevant sources. Tweet tips. Follow people interested in fitness and ask how you can help them.

The more the time you put into actually being the person you want to be, the better your chances of getting there. Twitter doesn’t have to be narrating your life; it can be a real part of why you live it.

Believe in Twitter karma.

I fully believe that when you put good, positive energy out there, it comes back to you—twofold, actually. First, it makes you feel good to help other people. And secondly, those people appreciate your kindness, and naturally want to support you in return.

Every day I ask my Twitter followers: “How can I help or support you today?” I then include the hashtag #payitforward. I genuinely mean that I want to help—and I show that by following through. I read their posts; tweet their links; and offer advice. I feel like we’re all helping each other. That positive perspective goes a long way when I started feeling discouraged because of minor setbacks.

Be positive, but be authentic.

I follow uplifting people because I love seeing feel-good links and quotes on my stream. But I also enjoy following real people. People who ask for help nicely when they need it. People who aren’t all-business. People who aren’t afraid to open themselves up and be vulnerable if they need support.

I went from the girl who wanted anonymity to a girl who has willingly tweeted, “Today was tough, but I can get through it. Thank you for being a friend.” You may not be as open with your emotions as I am, but you can still communicate honestly and let people into your world a little. Twitter relationships can be real relationships—and real relationships involve people that enjoy supporting each other.

In a fast-paced, information-overloaded world, it’s not always easy to feel heard. But sometimes all it takes is the willingness to reach out authentically and positively to one person. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can make a difference by being there for people with a smile.

Being a Twitter user you know that to talk directly to someone you simply put an @ symbol in front of their name. Perhaps what you didn’t know is that Twitter guesses and if you do not use the persons FULL username not only may your message never get to the intended person but it will also go to any other user with a similar name. For example my username is dani so when people want to talk to me they need to use @dani however I will also receive messages to anything similar to my name such as @Dani or @dani monkeytoes. So if you were actually trying to talk to danimonkeytoes and you put a space between dani and monkeytoes the tweet will come to me too. So be sure to use the correct and complete username when you are trying to @ reply to someone otherwise someone else might get your message too!

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]]>http://justtweetit.com/twitter-tips-tricks/use-full-twitter-username-when-replying/feed/13Twitter Tips & Tricks@ repliestwitter tipsusernamehttp://justtweetit.com/twitter-tips-tricks/use-full-twitter-username-when-replying/Power Twitter!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/justtweetit/~3/9LNZhGYjoPQ/
http://justtweetit.com/cool-twitter-tools/power-twitter/#commentsSun, 09 Aug 2009 10:32:48 +0000Dani McDanielhttp://justtweetit.com/?p=1070If you have more than 10 people you are following more than likely you use a third party app to sort your Twitter stream. But occasionally there are those times that you end up on the website for one reason or another. Power Twitter is an awesome add-on tool for Firefox that makes those times more bearable by providing the missing features we’ve all come to appreciate in our third party apps.

We have decided to feature Preemptive Love as our new “Featured Tweeter”! The Preemptive Love Coalition is an organization that seeks to eliminate the backlog of Arab and Kurdish children waiting in line for life-saving heart surgery.

There are thousands of children in Iraq today suffering from heart disease that threatens to take their little lives if they do not receive surgery outside the country. And time is running out because years of war and corruption have led to a health care system that is entirely ill-equipped to handle the enormity of the task.

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]]>http://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/preemptive-love/feed/11Featured Tweeters@preemptivelovefeatured tweeterPreemptive Lovehttp://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/preemptive-love/Find interesting people to follow on Twitter!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/justtweetit/~3/St6cNv_B_4A/
http://justtweetit.com/twitter-tips-tricks/find-interesting-people-to-follow-on-twitter/#commentsSat, 21 Feb 2009 05:01:38 +0000Dani McDanielhttp://justtweetit.com/?p=717#followfriday has become a popular way to find interesting people to follow on Twitter! Read more about #followfriday → #followfriday on Mashable’s Tumblelog

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]]>http://justtweetit.com/twitter-tips-tricks/find-interesting-people-to-follow-on-twitter/feed/31Twitter Tips & Tricksfollowfridaytwitterhttp://justtweetit.com/twitter-tips-tricks/find-interesting-people-to-follow-on-twitter/Featured Tweeter: One Day For Human Rights @HumanRightsDayhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/justtweetit/~3/9BUhMLf_kCc/
http://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/one-day-for-human-rights/#commentsTue, 09 Dec 2008 08:22:22 +0000adellehttp://justtweetit.com/?p=359HumanRightsDay, and since @anca_foster has been monumental in getting this all put together, I guess you could say we have TWO featured Tweeters!]]>This time we have a very special Featured Tweeter (not that the others weren’t special!) well you get the idea…We have chosen HumanRightsDay, and since @anca_foster has been monumental in getting this all put together, I guess you could say we have TWO featured Tweeters!

Write a blog post, record a podcast or videocast about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10th, with a backlink to onedayforhumanrights.com. It can be on any human rights subject, the idea behind this document, or any of the 30 articles in the Declaration.

Spread the word! Tell 10 people, using Twitter, e-mails, text messages, phone calls, and get them in the One Day for Human Rights loop and sign the petition to include the UDHR in your passports

Write a letter to your Congressman / Governor / Government Officials, asking them to print the UDHR in your passport.

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]]>http://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/one-day-for-human-rights/feed/0Featured Tweeters@anca_foster@HumanRightsDayAnca Fosterfeaturedfeatured tweeterHuman Rights DayOne Day for Human Rightshttp://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/one-day-for-human-rights/We’re on Facebook!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/justtweetit/~3/3jKNKt5rSK8/
http://justtweetit.com/latest-jti-news/were-on-facebook/#commentsMon, 08 Dec 2008 10:42:53 +0000Dani McDanielhttp://justtweetit.com/?p=347Just Tweet It is now on Facebook!
Be sure and visit our page and become a fan!]]>Just Tweet It is now on Facebook!

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]]>http://justtweetit.com/latest-jti-news/were-on-facebook/feed/13Latest JTI Newsfacebookhttp://justtweetit.com/latest-jti-news/were-on-facebook/How do you rank on Twitter?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/justtweetit/~3/4rwAxu_lBeY/
http://justtweetit.com/cool-twitter-tools/how-do-you-rank-on-twitter/#commentsSun, 09 Nov 2008 09:09:52 +0000Dani McDanielhttp://justtweetit.com/?p=314New followers on Twitter are always exciting… but what if you could know who stopped following you and why? Or better yet, how would you like to know what the Twitterverse thinks of you as a Tweeter? We have put together a list of tools to help you manage your followers and find out where you rank on Twitter.

Twinflluence – twInfluence is a simple tool using the Twitter API to to measure the combined influence of twitterers and their followers, with a few social network statistics thrown in as bonus. Visit Site

TwitterLeague – Have a group of users and want to see who has more followers? Well now you can with TwitterLeague. Visit Site

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]]>http://justtweetit.com/cool-twitter-tools/how-do-you-rank-on-twitter/feed/40Featured Toolstwitter elitetwitter usershttp://justtweetit.com/cool-twitter-tools/how-do-you-rank-on-twitter/Featured Tweeter: Kris Colvin @KrisColvinhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/justtweetit/~3/Nt8M7G45Bbk/
http://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/kriscolvin/#commentsWed, 29 Oct 2008 01:52:14 +0000adellehttp://justtweetit.com/?p=293Kris Colvin as our next Featured Tweeter! She is a user experience evangelist/consultant, software designer and social media strategist near Kansas City. ]]>We have chosen to Feature Kris Colvin, she is a user experience evangelist/consultant, software designer and social media strategist near Kansas City. If you haven’t followed her yet, your missing out – she always provides great feedback & is a very talented individual. Her website “Design For Users” is a blog about the universal experience encompassing users, brands and customers, social media strategy, marketing & brand identity.

She’s also hard a work on a new project (Twitterface.com), it’s going to change the way you tweet! You can follow the progress on Tweet Me Up. Congrats Kris!

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]]>http://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/kriscolvin/feed/5Featured Tweeters@kriscolvinfeaturedfeatured tweeterKris Kolvinhttp://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/kriscolvin/Gotta Follow: News on Twitterhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/justtweetit/~3/nIVi0gTXx_w/
http://justtweetit.com/gotta-follow/gotta-follow-news-on-twitter/#commentsFri, 10 Oct 2008 02:59:18 +0000Dani McDanielhttp://justtweetit.com/?p=253For all the news junkies out there, here is a list of any all kinds of news on Twitter!]]>For all the news junkies out there, here is a list of any all kinds of news on Twitter!

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]]>http://justtweetit.com/gotta-follow/gotta-follow-news-on-twitter/feed/6Gotta Follownewsnews botshttp://justtweetit.com/gotta-follow/gotta-follow-news-on-twitter/Featured Tweeter: Calvin Lee @mayhemstudioshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/justtweetit/~3/-_hVcBBx_RQ/
http://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/calvin-lee-mayhemstudios/#commentsThu, 09 Oct 2008 23:12:46 +0000adellehttp://justtweetit.com/?p=238Calvin Lee of Mayhem Studios as our 1st Featured Tweeter! Calvin is a web designer & blogger who is always hard at work tweeting and re-tweeting to help his fellow colleagues out and it hasn't gone unnoticed!]]>With only 3 days into the launch of Just Tweet It we have had some amazing feedback from the community and a lot of love has been spread. We have chosen to Feature Calvin Lee of Mayhem Studios as our 1st Featured Tweeter! Calvin is a web designer/blogger who is always hard at work tweeting and re-tweeting to help his fellow colleagues out and it hasn’t gone unnoticed! Congrats Calvin!

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]]>http://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/calvin-lee-mayhemstudios/feed/11Featured Tweeters@mayhemstudioscalvin leefeaturedfeatured tweeterhttp://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/calvin-lee-mayhemstudios/Vote for us on KillerStartups.com!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/justtweetit/~3/xL8KPr4JO8U/
http://justtweetit.com/latest-jti-news/vote-for-us-on-killerstartups/#commentsThu, 09 Oct 2008 08:45:28 +0000Dani McDanielhttp://justtweetit.com/?p=233KillerStartups.com has featured us on their site! Check out their awesome review and be sure to vote for us while your there!]]>KillerStartups.com has featured us on their site! Check out their awesome review and be sure to vote for us while your there!

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]]>http://justtweetit.com/latest-jti-news/vote-for-us-on-killerstartups/feed/0Latest JTI Newsjti presskillerstartupsreviewhttp://justtweetit.com/latest-jti-news/vote-for-us-on-killerstartups/Fight Spam With A Direct Message To Twitterhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/justtweetit/~3/RyyIvLCcoOU/
http://justtweetit.com/twitter-tips-tricks/fight-spam-with-a-direct-message-to-twitter/#commentsThu, 09 Oct 2008 07:06:00 +0000Dani McDanielhttp://justtweetit.com/?p=225There doesn’t appear to have been an official announcement, but Twitter has begun soliciting spam reports to a “spam” user account via direct messages. Are you a victim of Twitter spam? Just begin following @spam and send it a direct message with the username of your spammer.]]>There doesn’t appear to have been an official announcement, but Twitter has begun soliciting spam reports to a “spam” user account via direct messages. Are you a victim of Twitter spam? Just begin following @spam and send it a direct message with the username of your spammer.

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http://justtweetit.com/gotta-follow/10-designers-you-gotta-follow/#commentsMon, 06 Oct 2008 23:41:12 +0000adellehttp://justtweetit.com/?p=188Since twitter is all the rage lately and gaining popularity in many niche markets, especially graphic & web design I figured why not kick off the launch of justtweetit.com with a Top Ten list to get you started on following people.]]>Since twitter is all the rage lately and gaining popularity in many niche markets, especially graphic & web design I figured why not kick off the launch of justtweetit.com with a Top Ten list to get you started on following people.

There have been many articles on “who to follow ” on twitter and we are hoping that everyone will submit their own Usernames into our directory making it easier for communities to find people of similar interests. From Mom’s who twitter to Web developers, we invite all to join.

This list may not be new to some of you but for those just getting started with twitter, this may be helpful. We plan on doing more of these “top people” to follow for each category moving forward. This list incorporates helpful people whom actually respond to tweets too – (some) popular people to follow may not even acknowledge you exist.

If your interested in writing a top 10 list for a category, get in touch with us – we’d be happy to give you props for it.

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]]>http://justtweetit.com/gotta-follow/gotta-follow-them/feed/22Gotta Followtweeters to followhttp://justtweetit.com/gotta-follow/gotta-follow-them/Featured Tweeters!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/justtweetit/~3/xSFpoO1kdlY/
http://justtweetit.com/featured-tweeters/featured-tweeters/#commentsTue, 02 Sep 2008 11:17:14 +0000Dani McDanielhttp://justtweetit.com/?p=1Let us know!]]>We will feature exceptional “Tweeters” here on Just Tweet It! We are looking for Tweeters who stand out in their “communities” and are always friendly and helpful. Do you know someone who is worthy? Let us know!